Backpack Thompson Pass

     So this weekend on the calendar was a trip to a part of AK that neither of us had been but was definitely on the to-do list.  The plan was to backpack a few days out in Thompson Pass toward Marshall Pass, swing by Valdez and check out the summer-time scene, then hit up the Copper River for some opportunistic dip-netting.

     We bopped out of A-town Thursday evening and enjoyed the beautiful ride under sunny skies to Valdez.  We arrived late that evening and camped at the hair-pin pullout in Thompson Pass.  We set out the next morning toward Marshall Pass, initially ascending with minimal bushwhacking to cross a stream/gorge, and proceeded to traverse East.  We hiked about 2+ miles with some side-hilling: enough to insight the fear of a blister but not enough to distract from taking in the prized sunshine, cool breeze, plentiful streams/waterfalls, grand vistas with glaciers and pointy peaks and thousands of almost every Alaskan wildflower you can think of.  Lucy was in heaven chasing squirrels and smells, she wore herself out on day 1.

  We camped somewhere along that slope about 3 miles or so in and spent 2 nights there with equally impressive weather.  The second day we day-hiked to what was a lake on the map, hoping for a swim in the warm and sunny weather.  The lake turned out to be dried up with streams running through, but still a gorgeous oasis.

     The third day we woke to rainy skies which parted way to occasional drizzle then mostly cloudy.  We chose to take a lower and flatter route on a low bench toward the car but weren't sure if the gorge was passable or if we would have to ascend to cross again.  As we neared our decision point, we saw a flood of outdoorsy people coming from our hopeful gorge-crossing site.  We attempted to ask route info but they were in too much of a hurry......to get to McCarthy(what?!?).  Turns out it was the start of one of the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic races up here and from what I gather it is pretty much a long distance, hardcore backcountry race with an open route by means of human-powered travel where people wouldn't normally choose to travel.  Here are some pics and a write-up from last year.  Finally a less hurried group just said the gorge was passable: we should have asked specifics.  If you do this hike cross the gorge up high.

   We found their trampled path down the gorge to the stream without too much issue but then saw the slope they came down (fell/slid?) and realized it wasn't happening.  Being in too deep and too close to turn back, we proceeded downstream to a more approachable slope-angle and bushwhacked our way up a steep, muddy, wet, heavily vegetated(devil's club/alder/briar/fern/cow parsnip) route with clumsy packs for too-long before popping out near the highway.
     After collecting ourselves we drove down to Valdez for an over-priced shower, ate an over-priced lunch of OK food and drove around a low-key fishing town.  Then I realized Valdez is not a destination for the town, it is for the scenery around the town, and well-worth it.  I need to see this place in winter with my ski stuff.  We headed to Solomon Gulch to check out the Pink Salmon that had returned to the hatchery to spawn, which, in addition to the phenomenon of spawning being incredible, was awesome to see it in action.  We also had the opportunity to see a brown bear feeding on the salmon at a road-side tidal-pond.  I need to see this place in winter with my ski stuff.  

     The drive in and out of Valdez is just as incredible as the scenery around the town.  The canyon's steep cliff walls sandwich the road and the Lowe River, funneling them toward town.  There were plenty of cascading waterfalls emerging from the verdant slopes as well as pullouts to view them.  The remaining debris pile from the slide that shut the highway down this past winter was also still hanging around.  We managed to swing by the convenient Worthington glacier on our way to the Copper which was cool but not stand-out.  I need to see this place in winter with my ski stuff.

      We pulled into Chitina with just enough time to make a trip down the trail worth it that night.  We had already got our Salmon for the season, so we were more along for the ride with our trip-mates.  I should have sent them this link (copper dipnetting 101: minus the bike since we were already full on gear).  I usually underestimate the time/effort involved in the process after landing and stringing the fish and was tempted to keep dipping for more.  The fishing for foot-access people was slow but sufficient for an opportunistic excursion (~12 fish in ~4hrs, plus 3 or more we lost to a hole in the net).  The weather was pleasant with mild wind and a great alpenglow sunset on Mt. Drum(?).  We encountered bears at the cleaning creek and mountain goats up the road there for the first time, although given the salmon I'm surprised it took this many visits before dealing with bears.  We concluded with enough fish and a late night, we camped at the parking lot and headed out under rainy skies the next morning.

Another sweet trip in AK...............